Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 177: Just Like Before

This disturbance in Yuhuai Mountain did not affect other people outside of the group, at least for the time being. Even some of the immortal cultivators in Yuhuai Mountain were unaware of the situation, so naturally it would not affect Ji Yuan for the time being.

There was no need to circle around in the sky. The straight-line distance between Desheng Prefecture and Ning’an County was over 150 li, which wasn’t too far now that Ji Yuan could fly in the sky.

Even for someone like Ji Yuan, who was used to flying slowly, it only took him less than two quarters of an hour to fly over Ning’an County, riding on a cloud and the breeze.

From his position in the sky, he could see, far in the distance, a faint aura gathering on the corner of Tian Niu Lane in Ning’an County. When Ji Yuan opened his supernatural eyes, he could even see a faint green light hidden inside the aura.

‘The jujube tree?’

Ji Yuan was a little surprised. The breeze ruffled his clothes and hair. Ji Yuan slowly descended on his cloud before finally landing in the courtyard of Ju’an Pavilion.

“Rustle… Rustle…”

The wind in the courtyard seemed to grow stronger, and the branches and leaves of the entire jujube tree began to sway. The red jujubes on the boughs were now crystal clear and glowed with a red light.

Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh…

“Hold on!”

Ji Yuan stretched out his hand and caught the five fallen jujubes, then raised his left hand to stop the jujube tree from dropping even more.

“I’ll just have a taste. If everything falls down at once, then there will be none left.”

The swaying of the branches and leaves of the jujube tree finally subsided.

Ji Yuan set down his bag from his shoulder and four of the jujubes on the stone table. He then took the last jujube, brought it to his nose, sniffed it, then opened his mouth and took a bite.

With a slurp, the juice burst out of the fruit’s flesh and a sweet fragrance filled his mouth.

“Delicious, delicious, even better than the jujubes I had before! Hahaha…”

With a smile on his face, Ji Yuan sat down at the stone table and continued to enjoy the fruits in a relaxed manner. The Green Vine Sword floated behind him, changing its angle from time to time as if it were also observing Ju’an Pavilion.

After eating the five jujubes, Ji Yuan looked up at the jujube tree in the courtyard, feeling deeply moved. The jujube tree was no longer blurry in his eyes, and he could feel the vitality in its veins. Even more extraordinary was its rare ability to gather spiritual energy.

“It’s very good, peaceful and calm, without any evil spirits. This can be considered a successful cultivation!”

Ji Yuan’s soft words of admiration caused all the branches and leaves of the jujube tree to sway regularly, as if the rhythm of the limbs were expressing their joy.

However, as he was admiring it, Ji Yuan also searched carefully between the branches and leaves, but didn’t see anything even after a long time.

‘It’s a pity that it didn’t bloom this year…’

Ji Yuan sat in the courtyard for a while, then walked towards the main room. He was stunned for a moment upon seeing that it had a lock on it. Then he waved his arms to bring out his purse and rummaged inside to take out the key.

“Fortunately, I kept the keys in my purse, and I didn’t lose them along with the old bag. Otherwise, I would have lost this sense of ritual, haha!”

As he laughed, Ji Yuan inserted the key into the keyhole. With a “click,” the door was unlocked.

“Squeak…”

The sound of the wooden door hinges were still so familiar. There was no molding, mildew, or rot smell from the room.

After Ji Yuan entered, he quickly swiped his finger along the table inside. Not much dust gathered on his fingers. It seemed that it had been cleaned recently.

Although there was only a wooden board for the bed and no bedding, there were quilts and other items in the cupboard that still smelled of sunlight.

“It seems that Xiao Yin Qing didn’t join them in Wan Province!”

With a flick of his sleeve, he brushed away the small amount of accumulated dust on the bed boards. Then he took the bedding and spread it out. Ji Yuan placed the Green Vine Sword beside him, and then lay back on his dearly missed bed.

“Home is still the most comfortable place!”

With a sigh, Ji Yuan closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.

The Green Vine Sword remained still at the bedside for a moment, then slowly floated up and flew to the front door of the main room. It pushed the door that was still slightly ajar until it was tightly closed, then flew back to the bedside.

In the old courtyard of the Yin family’s house, while the branches and leaves of the jujube tree in Ju’an Pavilion were swaying violently, the red fox sleeping next to Yin Qing twitched his ears and raised his head to listen.

After listening for a while, he concluded that it was probably a strong wind, and so lay down and fell back asleep.

Although Ji Yuan had not spoken his wish aloud, that night, the jujube tree in Ju’an Pavilion sprouted flower buds in the second half of the night. Yellow-green jujube flowers blossomed and hung from the branches. Before dawn, a faint fragrance filled Tian Niu Lane.

. . .

It was an ordinary morning in Ning’an County, but something seemed to be different from usual.

When the residents of Tian Niu Lane and even the neighboring district woke up, they could smell a refreshing fragrance.

In Tian Niu Square’s public water wells, people were already fetching water and washing clothes and vegetables in the early morning. The sound of slapping clothes and the voices of the local women chatting could be heard everywhere.

“Something smelled so good when I woke up this morning!”

“Yes, yes, this fragrance is really nice. Where did it come from?”

“You guys forgot already? It must be the fragrance of the jujube tree’s flowers in Ju’an Pavilion. I always slept more comfortably when I smelled it at night!”

“Yes, yes, I remember now!”

“Wow, it’s been a long time since the jujube tree has given off such a strong fragrance!”

“That’s great, hahaha…”

“Then will we have jujubes to eat this year? Hahahaha…”

“Oh, all you think about is eating!”

……

The women from the public water wells kept laughing as clear as a bell, and soon others who had come to fetch water joined in the conversation. The residents of Tian Niu Lane walked more energetically this morning.

Yin Qing got up early in the morning and rushed to school with Hu Yun. Now, Yin Qing was never alone when he went to school; the red fox followed in order to eavesdrop. After all, teachers were better at teaching.

They just scented the fragrance in the morning, so the boy and the fox deliberately passed by Ju’an Pavilion. Sure enough, they saw the jujube tree in full bloom. They were very surprised, but didn’t think much of it. In addition, they were in a hurry to go to school, so they naturally couldn’t unlock the door to take a closer look. The two of them ran straight to the school.

The red fox relied on his spiritual power and a bit of concealment techniques to lie on Yin Qing’s back as he traversed the traversed the streets and alleyways. In truth, this was only possible because the City God turned a blind eye, otherwise he would never have been able to hide from the spirits who patrolled day and night.

It was about half an hour after Yin Qing and the red fox Hu Yun had arrived at the school together that Ji Yuan stretched comfortably and exited the house. He had always had a habit in Ju’an Pavilion to sleep until noon. As soon as he got back, he naturally returned to his usual routine.

Looking up at the jujube tree full of flowers, Ji Yuan bowed with cupped hands to it, as if greeting a cultivator. Then he tidied his hair, affixed his black jade hairpin, and then went out.

On the street outside on Tian Niu Lane, Sun’s noodle stall was still open for business. Time seemed to be particularly unfair to the elderly. In only around six years, Old Man Sun had aged a lot.

But today, when he pushed his stall cart over there today, he could smell a refreshing fragrance that uplifted his spirits. His hands and feet became much more nimble, and both Old Man Sun and his customers were in a good mood.

Having just cleared the previous guests’ table, Old Man Sun scooped water from the water container behind his stall to rinse and brush the dishes, then he placed them by the stove to heat for a while.

“Old Sun, do you still have braised noodles and offal today?”

A familiar voice that he couldn’t quite place sounded at the stall. Old Man Sun stood up and looked over. In a seat that had previously been empty sat a gentle and kind-looking gentleman in a white robe with wide sleeves. He looked remarkably familiar.

“You are… you… are you Mr. Ji?”

Old Man Sun’s expression changed from a puzzled frown to a look of surprise.

“Mr. Ji, you’re back? I’m glad you’re back! Oh, oh yes, you said braised noodles and offal. Yes, we have both, but our only offal is mutton offal. I’ll have to go to a few of the surrounding villages tomorrow to ask if they have any beef offal!”

“No need, no need. Mutton offal is fine. As usual, a bowl of braised noodles and a bowl of chopped offal! Old Sun is still so energetic!”

Ji Yuan smiled and bowed to Old Man Sun.

Old Man Sun wiped his hands on his apron and bowed in return. Seeing Ji Yuan made him feel even better.

“Mr. Ji, it is you who fits that description better. You haven’t changed a bit in all these years! Please wait a moment, I will make you some noodles right away!”

Old Man Sun skillfully prepared the meal for Ji Yuan and carefully brought it to the table.

He watched Ji Yuan pick up the chopsticks, take a bite, raise his head, and praise, “It still tastes so good!” He returned to the wooden cart stall with satisfaction to continue organizing the utensils.

From time to time, Old Man Sun would chat with Ji Yuan about what had happened in the past few years. They mainly talked about family matters such as his grandson’s schooling, and also asked Ji Yuan what he had been doing while he was gone.

Other than listening, Ji Yuan mostly just smiled and gave some encouraging replies.

During this period of time, some villagers passed by or ate at the stall. Occasionally, someone would suddenly recognize Ji Yuan like Old Man Sun had, but most of them didn’t know him. It was just that everyone would inevitably discuss the fragrance of flowers that wafted about today.

In the past, although Ji Yuan was a “strange man” and the subject of rumors for the townspeople over dinner, not many people could recognize him at a glance. Six years or so could change a lot of things. The young had grown up, and the elder had grown even older.

But in the end, the sense of tranquility that Ning’an County gave Ji Yuan had not changed.

T/n: random thought – with all the emphasis placed on JY’s black hairpin, I keep getting the impression that it’s going to become some kind of spiritual tool or something… heck if I know. But I’m calling it now!

Also, the jujube tree is an eager-to-please child and the Green Vine Sword is the mom friend. Old Man Sun is precious. I shall take no disagreements. 😀